The Science of Persuasion and Prevention Messages II: The Principle of Reciprocity

In my previous post, I suggested that Chialdini’s Principles of Persuasion might be applicable to crafting prevention messages that target contemporary collegians, the principle of consistency being the object of primacy in that essay. This post will consider Chialdini’s second principle, reciprocity.

Simply stated, and this definition is borrowed from the video I referenced previously, this principle of persuasion builds on our perceived obligation to “give back” once we have received a gift, be it something tangible like an object or a gesture, such as an invitation to a social event. Research on this perceived sense of indebtedness has found that the gift itself is less important in triggering this feeling of obligation than is the how by which the gift was proffered, which makes the difference.

By way of a couple, examples to demonstrate this principle. Have you ever received a mailing from a charity that included address stickers or small but attractive note pads? If so, I will bet that you either felt obligated to send a donation—and did—or, not wishing to send money, discarded the stickers or note pad to avoid any “guilt” you might feel should you use the “gift” without having “reciprocated” with a donation.

Same church, different pew…you go out for a meal with a colleague. When the bill comes the acquaintance is quick to take the bill. You protest saying the meal was your idea so you want to pay, but she/he insists and squares the tab. A week later, having forgotten the “free meal,” your associate asks you to watch her/his dog for the weekend and without a second thought, you agree. We humans tend to do things for others based on our previous experiences with them. 

So how might this principle of persuasion be applied when considering how to persuade contemporary collegians to embrace harm reduction and/or health-promoting strategies?

Consider a scenario where a student or a small group of students meets with a health educator…or athletic trainer, professor, or any other “someone in authority.” This meeting can be for cause or perhaps a casual or spontaneous interaction. Towards the end of the conversation, the health educator says, “I really appreciate your time in chatting with me; I’m always interested in what students are thinking on this topic. Is it okay if I send an email to _____ (and here you can insert whomever you believe will be someone of importance or significance to the student(s) with whom you are speaking, e.g., Dean of Students, coach, or head of Greek life) acknowledging your time in meeting with me and expressing my appreciation?”  NOTE: In the case of a mandated meeting, for example, following a violation of the alcohol policy, letting the student know that no matter what is discussed or how talkative the student may be during the mandated session, you will, with the student’s permission, document her/his having met the mandate and express your thanks for the referral to the appropriate individual monitoring the case.

At the end of the session, as you are shaking hands or otherwise engaging in concluding the meeting, you ask:

·      May we meet again to brainstorm how best to approach students to invite them to moderate their drinking? or…

·      Would you please hang this poster in your residence hall common room? or…

·      May I contact you in “X” weeks to follow up on this meeting? or…

·      Please use this outline to track how often you may drink (smoke, exercise, “whatever”) and how many standard drinks you have each time you may decide to drink. or…

·      Use this formula to calculate the number of calories you consumed on each occasion you may decide to drink (or calculate the amount of money spent on tobacco each day, or calories burned exercising, or time spent online, etcetera).

Remember, it is not the gift one gives but the way it is proffered that activates the perceived obligation to reciprocate. Experiments done on tipping found that a simple mint offered by a server resulted in increased tips but when the server doubled back after leaving the mints and said, “you know, you folks were such nice guests, here are couple extras,” tips quadrupled. Again, it was not the mints but how they were delivered that influenced the reciprocity.

So, what are some ways you might “proffer a gift” to students when interacting with them to increase the likelihood that they are persuaded to consume your harm reduction or health-promoting message?

What do you think?

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Next time, the principle of “scarcity” as a principle of persuasion.